Frequently asked questions

Psychotherapy or counselling works by offering a safe, supportive space where you can explore your thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and life experiences with a trained professional. Through conversation and evidence-based techniques, you gain insight into patterns that may be contributing to stress, anxiety, low mood, or other concerns.

In a client-centred and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach, we work collaboratively to help you understand how your thoughts impact your feelings and actions, and to build practical tools that support healthier coping, clearer thinking, and improved wellbeing. Whether online or in-person, psychotherapy provides structure, guidance, and space for meaningful change.

A counsellor's role is to support you, not to judge, direct, or diagnose you unnecessarily. In my practice, this includes:

• Providing a safe, confidential space
• Listening deeply and with empathy
• Asking thoughtful questions to help you gain insight
• Offering evidence-based strategies (including CBT and DBT tools)
• Working collaboratively toward your goals
• Supporting you to build skills for long-term wellbeing

The counsellor does not tell you how to live your life. Instead, we guide, encourage, and walk alongside you as you navigate challenges and discover your strengths.

Psychotherapy and counselling are closely related, and in many settings the terms overlap. However, there are some general distinctions:

• Counselling often focuses on specific issues, life stressors, or immediate concerns. It may be shorter-term and aims to support you through current challenges.
• Psychotherapy tends to explore deeper emotional patterns, long-standing concerns, or significant personal difficulties. It may involve longer-term work aimed at understanding underlying thoughts, behaviours, or relational patterns.

Both approaches can be used together. My sessions blend counselling and psychotherapy depending on your needs, using client-centred principles, DBT and CBT strategies.

Each 45-minute session is tailored to you, but you can generally expect:

• A check-in on how you've been feeling
• A supportive conversation about what's been happening in your life
• Exploration of thoughts, emotions, and experiences
• Practical CBT or DBT-based tools or strategies when helpful
• Space to reflect, process, and gain clarity
• Collaborative goal-setting or planning for the week ahead

In online sessions, the process is the same—just from the comfort of your own space. Many clients appreciate the flexibility, privacy, and convenience of online counselling.

It depends on what you need:

• A counsellor or psychotherapist is ideal if you're looking for emotional support, help navigating challenges, or strategies for managing anxiety, stress, low mood, relationship issues, or personal development. Counsellors focus on talk therapy and psychological tools, not medication.
• A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose mental health conditions and prescribe medication. They may be helpful if you're experiencing severe, persistent, or complex symptoms that may require medical treatment.

Many people see a counsellor and a psychiatrist at the same time, or start with counselling and add psychiatric support if needed. If I ever feel you may benefit from a medical assessment, I will discuss this with you in a supportive and transparent way.